The bulk of the documents in this collection were produced by the V Amphibious Corps; the 3d, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions; and Task Force 56 during the campaign to capture the island of Iwo Jima, known as Operation Detachment.

This box list comprises official record copies of operation plans, after action reports, and other documents concerning the Iwo Jima campaign.

Index to Iwo Jima Personal Papers Collections

This index highlights collections found in the Archives Branch concerning Marine Corps involvement in the Guadalcanal campaign, August 1942–February 1943, including Operation Pestilence, Operation Watchtower, Operation Cartwheel, and Operation Ringbolt.

The criteria for selecting collections for inclusion in this index is limited to those personal papers that contain materials pertinent to the study of the Guadalcanal campaign. Collections in this index are comprised of official Marine Corps records, documents, and publications; letters and correspondence; manuscripts; photographs; maps; memoirs and reminiscences; clippings and articles; oral histories and interviews; and realia and ephemera.

Please note that some of the photographs found on our Flickr pages are considered public domain and have been cleared for release. While some imagery is public domain, any use of such imagery from this site must be attributed to the U.S. Marine Corps, or the individual photographer. Photographs may not be used to deface the reputation of the Marine Corps, its personnel, or policies. Additionally, some imagery on this site may fall under copyright protection, such as imagery from personal photo collections donated to the Archives. Please contact us for more information regarding proper use of and/or copyright restrictions for these images.

Staff Sergeant Louis R. "Lou" Lowery, a combat photographer, accompanied a 40-man combat patrol from 2d Battalion, 28th Marines to document the raising of the American flag over the hotly-contested island of Iwo Jima on 23 February 1945. The photographs in this collection document not only the event that would later be known as the first flag raising, but also Lowery’s impressions of Iwo Jima, from his arrival on Green Beach to the landing of the first B-29 Bomber on the secured island.

Iwo Jima Maps

The Archives Branch maintains a collection of original maps from the Iwo Jima campaign, to include the overlays, appendices, and enclosures from the Divisional operation plans and after action reports.

Some of these maps are available in digital format. Please contact the Archives for more information.

Monographs and publications from the Marine Corps History Division

by Colonel Joseph H. Alexander, USMC
Sunday, 4 March 1945, marked the end of the second week of the U.S. invasion of Iwo Jima. By this point the assault elements of the 3d, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions were exhausted, their combat efficiency reduced to dangerously low levels. The thrilling sight of the American flag being raised by the 28th Marines on Mount Suribachi had occurred 10 days earlier, a lifetime on "Sulphur Island."

by Lieutenant Colonel Whitman S. Bartley, USMC
At Iwo Jima the amphibious doctrines, techniques, weapons, and equipment which had proven so effective during the three previous years of World War II received the supreme test. On that island more than 20,000 well-disposed and deeply entrenched Japanese troops conducted an intelligent and dogged defense. There, more than anywhere else in the Central Pacific, terrain and enemy defense preparations combined to limit the effectiveness of American supporting arms, placing a premium on the skill and aggressive fighting spirit of the individual Marine.